Conformal quantum mechanics as the CFT${}_1$ dual to AdS${}_2$

A 0+1-dimensional candidate theory for the CFT${}_1$ dual to AdS${}_2$ is discussed. The quantum mechanical system does not have a ground state that is invariant under the three generators of the conformal group. Nevertheless, we show that there are operators in the theory that are not primary, but whose “non-primary character” conspires with the “non-invariance of the vacuum” to give precisely the correlation functions in a conformally invariant theory.