We study the simultaneous optimization of efficiency and revenue in pay-per-click keyword auctions in a Bayesian setting. Our main result is that the efficient keyword auction yields near-optimal revenue even under modest competition. In the process, we build on classical results in auction theory to prove that increasing the number of bidders by the number of slots outweighs the benefit of emp...

Nonconvex derivative-free time-consuming objectives are often optimized using “black-box” optimization. These approaches assume very little about the objective. While broadly applicable, they typically require more evaluations than methods exploiting problem structure. Often, such actually sum or integral of a larger number functions, each which consumes significant time when evaluated individu...

We study the model-checking problem for WMTL, a costextension of the linear-time timed temporal logic MTL, that is interpreted over weighted timed automata. We draw a complete picture of the decidability for that problem: it is decidable only for the class of one-clock weighted timed automata with a restricted stopwatch cost, and any slight extension of this model leads to undecidability. We fi...