Observation of $B^{\pm} \to \psi(2S) \pi^{\pm}$ and search for direct CP-violation

We report the first observation of $B^{\pm}\to\psi(2S)\pi^{\pm}$, a Cabibbo- and color-suppressed decay. This analysis is based on $657\times10^{6}$ $B\overline B$ events collected at the $\Upsilon(4S)$ resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB energy-asymmetric $e^+e^-$ collider. The measured branching fraction is ($2.44 \pm 0.22 \pm 0.20$)$\times 10^{-5}$ and the charge asymmetry is $\mathcal{A}=0.022 \pm 0.085 \pm 0.016$. The ratio of the branching fractions $\mathcal {B}(B^{\pm} \to \psi(2S) \pi^{\pm})$$/ \mathcal {B}(B^{\pm} \to \psi(2S) K^{\pm})$ $= (3.99 \pm 0.36\pm 0.17)$ is also determined.