Anisotropic thermodynamics of d-wave superconductors in the vortex state

We show that the density of states and the thermodynamic properties of a two-dimensional d-wave superconductor in the vortex state with applied magnetic field H in the plane depend on the angle between H and the order-parameter nodes. Within a semiclassical treatment of the extended quasiparticle states, we obtain fourfold oscillations of the specific heat, measurement of which provides a simple probe of gap symmetry. The frequency dependence of the density of states and the temperature dependence of thermodynamic properties obey different power laws for field in the nodal and antinodal direction. The fourfold pattern is changed to twofold when orthorhombicity is considered. [S0163-1829(99)50514-6].