  Aims. We present a physically consistent reconstruction of the total solar
irradiance for the Holocene. Methods. We extend the SATIRE models to estimate
the evolution of the total (and partly spectral) solar irradiance over the
Holocene. The basic assumption is that the variations of the solar irradiance
are due to the evolution of the dark and bright magnetic features on the solar
surface. The evolution of the decadally averaged magnetic flux is computed from
decadal values of cosmogenic isotope concentrations recorded in natural
archives employing a series of physics-based models connecting the processes
from the modulation of the cosmic ray flux in the heliosphere to their record
in natural archives. We then compute the total solar irradiance (TSI) as a
linear combination of the jth and jth + 1 decadal values of the open magnetic
flux. Results. Reconstructions of the TSI over the Holocene, each valid for a
di_erent paleomagnetic time series, are presented. Our analysis suggests that
major sources of uncertainty in the TSI in this model are the heritage of the
uncertainty of the TSI since 1610 reconstructed from sunspot data and the
uncertainty of the evolution of the Earth's magnetic dipole moment. The
analysis of the distribution functions of the reconstructed irradiance for the
last 3000 years indicates that the estimates based on the virtual axial dipole
moment are significantly lower at earlier times than the reconstructions based
on the virtual dipole moment. Conclusions. We present the first physics-based
reconstruction of the total solar irradiance over the Holocene, which will be
of interest for studies of climate change over the last 11500 years. The
reconstruction indicates that the decadally averaged total solar irradiance
ranges over approximately 1.5 W/m2 from grand maxima to grand minima.
