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Local-global questions for divisibility in commutative algebraic groups

This is a survey focusing on the Hasse principle for divisibility of points in commutative algebraic groups and its relation with the Hasse principle for divisibility of elements of the Tate-Shavarevich group in the Weil-Châtelet group. The two local-global subjects arose as a generalization of some classical questions considered respectively by Hasse and Cassels. We describe the deep connection between the two problems and give an overview of the long-established results and the ones achieved during the last twenty years, when the questions were taken up again in a more general setting. In particular, by connecting various results about the two problems, we describe how some recent developments in the first of the two local-global questions imply an answer to Cassel's question, which improves all the results published before about that problem. This answer is best possible over $\mathbb{Q}$. We also describe some links with other similar questions, as for examples the Support Problem and the local-global principle for existence of isogenies of prime degree in elliptic curves.