A pinching estimate for solutions of the linearized Ricci flow system on 3-manifolds

We prove an estimate for solutions to the linearized Ricci flow system on closed 3-manifolds. This estimate is a generalization of Hamilton's pinching is preserved estimate for the Ricci curvatures of solutions to the Ricci flow on 3-manifolds with positive Ricci curvature. In our estimate we make no assumption on the curvature of the initial metric. We show that the norm of the solution of the Lichnerowicz Laplacian heat equation (coupled to the Ricci flow) is bounded by a constant (depending on time) times the scalar curvature plus a constant. This relies on a Bochner type formula and establishing the nonnegativity of a degree 4 homogeneous polynomial in 6 variables.