They're called Prime and Alpha because that's the...
They're called Prime and Alpha because that's the...
The writers would know the definitive answer, but in mathematics and economics, an initial condition (such as a starting price in a comparative statics model) would be labeled P and a later condition would be labeled P' (pronounced P prime). Typically one would not call the initial state P alpha, but alpha often denotes the "first" in a series. For example, the probability of a Type 1 error in statistics is denoted Alpha and the probability of a Type 2 error is denoted Beta.
A similar set of notation would label an initial state P subscript/superscript 0 (P naught or P sub zero) and the later state P subscript/superscript 1 (P sub one).
Thus it appears that the writers are reaching into scientific notation to make a science fiction show sound more sciency about a scientific phenomenon.