Muon capture in a general class of weak models

We study muon capture by 12C in a general class of weak models. There is always a parameter characteristic of the weak model that can be extracted in a nuclear-model-independent way from the average polarization P/sub av/, the longitudinal polarization P/sub L//sup N/ and the asymmetry α in the angular distribution of recoils. For a less general class of models the asymmetry α is unnecessary. Using the experimental values of P/sub L//sup N/ and P/sub av/ we get a lower bound for the mass of the right-handed gauge boson of the left-right-symmetric model, M/sub W//sub R/> or =2.5ML, in a nuclear-model-independent way. The dependence of this bound on the experimental values is also discussed