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In a pair of linked articles (called Papers I and II, respectively), we apply the concept of Lagrangian Coherent Structures (LCSs) borrowed from the study of dynamical systems to magnetic field configurations in order to separate regions where field lines have a different kind of behaviour. In the present article, Paper I, after recalling the definition and the properties of the LCSs, we show how this conceptual framework can be applied to the study of particle transport in a magnetized plasma. Furthermore, we introduce a simplified model that allows us to consider explicitly the case where the magnetic configuration evolves in time on time scales comparable to the particle transit time through the configuration. In contrast with previous works on this topic, this analysis requires that a system that is aperiodic in time be investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a pair of linked articles (called Papers I and II, respectively), we apply the concept of Lagrangian Coherent Structures borrowed from the study of Dynamical Systems to chaotic magnetic field configurations in order to separate regions where field lines have different kinds of behavior. In the present article, Paper II, by means of a numerical procedure, we investigate the Lagrangian Coherent Structures in the case of a two-dimensional magnetic configuration with two island chains that are generated by magnetic reconnection and evolve nonlinearly in time. The comparison with previous results, obtained by assuming a fixed magnetic field configuration, allows us to explore the dependence of transport barriers on the particle velocity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]